Display rack



Feb. 6, 1940. 1 SMITH .2,189,254

DISPLAY RACK Filed March 14, 1938 Patented'reb. 6, 1940 I 2,189,254 i si DISPLAY RACK ,John'i Smith, Clovis, N. Mex.assignor of one- UhalttoW. C. Overton, Fort Sumner,` N. Mex.

` Applicaties March 14, 193s, serial No. 195,917 5 claims.y (o1. 2li- 13) The present invention relates to display racks and is particularly useful in'displaying articles of apparel, such as mens trousers. 4An object of the invention is the provision of a rack which is capable of effectively displayingv 'a plurality oi articles of yapparel superposed relation, said rack also` permitting each article l to be easily and quickly removed from any por-` tionof the rack, as desired.`

tion Whichv will' permit articles to be displayed upon oppositey sides of, the rack. The present invention comprises a panel-like casingprovided Awith means for detachably supporting two sets 'of spaced hangers designed to effectively display articlesof apparel, such as trousers, on both sides of the casing.

A further object is the provision of contiactible hangers `which may be easily` and quicklyy inserted p and removed from lthe rack as desired.

Withthe foregoing and other objects inyieW,

. the invention will now be` more fully described,`

, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing, wherein: i

Figure 1` is a side elevation, partly in section,

. of my display rack,

FigureV 2 is a section on line `2 2 of Figure l, Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary View on line 3-3 of Figure l, and 'K Figures 4 and 5 are enlarged fragmentary views of oneof the hangers. s 5 Referring now-to the drawing, the numeral I0 designates aldisplay rack forming the subject matter of the present invention. This rack may be supported in any suitable manner and Lin the 'present instance I have provided a supportingl pedestal Il mounted on aI base I2. `A` hollow tubular sleeve I3 is telescope-d over the pedestal Vis provided with upper'andilowerflanged brackets f I4 and I5 respectively, which 'directly support a plurality of the display racks lli. As shown in` Figure l, the iianges of the `brackets I4 andv I5 arefprovided with aligned openings I`6 which resions IB and I9 of the display rack.` With this 4mounted on the brackets Ill and i5 andthe member I3 is, in turn, freely rotatableon the pedestal il, whereby each rack is individually `movable.

with respect to its supporting member and also rotatable `with the sleeve I 3 about the pedestal i I. Each display rack I@ comprisesa substantially hollow sheet metal frame or casing of panel-like g55 formation consisting of two sections 20 and 2l Another object is to pro ide a novel construc- Y tom Walls kofV the casing opening.

or ltop Wall 26 is provided with downwardly ex- ,tendingyanges 28, while the ,lowerwall 21 is garment supporting hangers 32. Ii andis freely rotatable thereon.l This sleeve respectively. These sections are 4preferably pressed or stamped to the desired configuration.

` The section 2li is formedwith a ilat `wall 22, constituting one of the side walls of the rack. The longitudinal edges of this Wall are l:extended and` "5 bent to form the end Walls 23 and 24 of the casing. Each end wall is provided with a plurality of inturnedv` projections 25 Whichjconstitute means for securing the section 2I,."c'omprsing the other sidewall of the casing, to the section! During the formation ofithe casing sections `each wall 2| and 22 is cut away to form an open` p ing of substantially rectangular formation` y When the sections areassembled these openings 15 are aligned and cooperate to form a rectangular opening in the casing. The wall 22 is also formed with upper and lower inturned ilanges 26 and- 2'l which extendacrossthe Width of V.the casing il. to the Wall 2i and constitute the top and` b ot- The ange formed with upwardly` `extending flanges 29.

`These flanges are employed to position and sup- "'25 ,port a pair of strips 30 which are secured to the l viianges `in any suitable manner, such as byv i rivets. l

,With the construction as thus far described,

it Will be apparent that the sections 2l)` and 2I `vvhen assembled comprise a panel-like frame or casing` having airectangular openingforrned therein. Each `strip 3l! is provided with spaced parallel slots 3'! which are so arranged that opposite `slots arein alignmentand cooperate to` form two longitudinally extending guides, each of which is adapted to,k receive a plurality of Referring to Figure 1,*it willybe ,observedthat` severalhangers 32 4are.lrlountecl one of vthe 40 guides formed vby one `pairof slots 3l and it is "to be understood that these hangers `mayV be built y'up and supported one upon the othenthroughout the Whole length of.A `the panel opening. Each yvent the trouser supporting portion 33 `from turning or rotatingater it has been placed inA `the rack. The extremities of the flattened portions 34 are laterally extended to provide spacer arms 36 which,`as shown in Figure 1, extend within the casing and directly support the next adjacent upper hanger, which is subsequently placed on top of the first hanger. 'Ihus the hangers-adequately support each other and also sufficiently space the garment receiving portion,

so that the weight of the superposed hangers will not be imparted to the pairs of trousers, with the possibility of mussing or injuring the same.

Referring to Figures 4 and 5, it will be vobserved that each hanger is contractible in order to permit insertion and removal of the hanger from the rack. In this connection, one of the arms 36 of each hanger is formed with an extension 3'1` telescopng within the flattened portion 34 of its respective hanger. This extension is provided with a slot 38 which rides on a cross pin 39 carried by and adjacent the end of the iiattened por# tion 34. A coil spring All is positioned in the attened portion and presses against the innery end of the extension 3'! whereby the arm 36 is normally maintained in its extended position' against the tension of the spring. Wheny it is desired to insert a hanger in one of the guideways, thev contractible end of the hanger is rst placed in one of the slots andthe Vspring lcompressed until the other end of the dit. This will release the rigidly mounted arm 3G from its respective slot and permit it to move free of the casing, whereupon the hanger and garment may be completely removed from the rack. It is to be understood that the slots 3i are of sufficiently greater width than the thickness of the arms 3% to permit a lateral swinging movement of the hanger (see Figure 3), as it is linserte-d andremoved from the slots.

Each hanger is preferably provided withl a pair off spring clamps 4I which effectively clamp the trousers` 35 or other article of apparel to the hanger to prevent any slipping action and thus securely maintain the garment in the desired position for display purposes. By constructing the rack to form a panel-like casing and by providing the aligned slots to form a pair of spaced guides, a double row of trousers may be effectively supported and displayed from one rack li). It will be apparent that this provides an eicient means for displaying apparel,

since both sides of the rack are utilized for display purposes. Furthermore, this construction permits the easy removal and replacement of an article of apparel from the rack. If, for instance, the rack is substantially iilled and it is desired to remove an intermediate hanger, it is merely necesary to raise those'hangers positioned abovey the one tombe removed, whereupon the hanger in question may be easily taken'irom the. rack in the manner above described.

While the present means of pivotally supportin'g the display rack is quite efficient, it is to be understood that any other supporting means may bev employed so long as both sides of each panel are free for display purposes. It is to befurther understood that such other variations in the construction herein shown and described as are withinthe skill of a mechanic may, of course, be

ymade without departing from the range of my invention.

` of the casing opening,

'y ceiving guide, and a ably mounted in said Aport and display articles section, a pair of spaced metal strips extending between the` side walls within the opening formed by said walls, each strip being provided with spaced parallel longitudinally extending slots,

each slot being aligned with one of the slots of the opposite strip and forming therewith a hanger receiving guide, and a plurality of hangers slidably mounted in said guides and adapted to support and display articles of apparel on both sides of the panel-like casing.

2. A display rack comprising a hollow panellike sheet metal casing consisting of a section forming a side and the end walls of the casing and having an opening formed in the side wall, a second section forming the other side wall of the casing and having an opening registering with `the opening in the side wall of the other section, one of said sections having spaced inturned iiangeaa pair of spaced metal strips extending between and secured to said inturned flanges, each strip being provided with spaced parallel longitudinally extending slots, each slot being aligned with one of the slots of the opposite strip andv forming therewith a hanger receiving guide, and a plurality of hangers slidably mounted in v said guides and adapted to support and display articles of apparel on both sides of the panellike casing.

3. A display rack comprising a hollow panellike sheet metal casing consisting of a section forming a side and the end walls of the casing and having a rectangular'v opening formed in 40 the side wall, a second section forming the other slde wall of the casing and having an` opening l registering with the opening in the side wall of the other section, said first mentioned section having spaced inturned flanges extending across F to the other section and constituting end walls a pair of spaced metal strips secured to said inturned flanges and extending between the side walls of the casing with- 1n the opening and constituting the side walls of the opening, each strip being provided ywith spaced parallel longitudinally extending slots, each slot being aligned with one of th-e slots of the opposlte strip and forming therewith va* hanger reguides and adapted to supof apparel on both sides of the panel-like casing. l 4. Adisplay rack comprising a panel-like frame having an opening therein dening at least one pair of opposed parallel side walls, each of said plurality of hangers slidside walls being `provided with a pair of spaced slots,

each slot extending longitudinally of and throughout substantially the whole length of its respective wall, each slot being aligned with one of the slots in the opposite side wall and forming therewith a-n uninterrupted hanger receiving guide, and a plurality of freely slidable hangers mounted in said guides and forming therewith Atwo sets of apparel display devices, one set adapted to display apparel on one side of the frame and vthe other set ladapted to display apparel on the opposite side of the frame.

Q 5. A display rack comprising a panel-like cas-A ing having a substantially rectangular opening' formed therein, a set of Istrips carried bysaid casrupted closed hanger receiving guide, and a `plurality of contractible hangers slidably and removably mounted in said guideswand forming` therewith two sets of apparel display devices, one set adapted to display apparel `on Vone side' of the casing, and the other set adapted to display n t apparel on the opposite side of thecasing.

v JOHN T. SMITH. 

